Judge will rule Monday on Hendersonville Christian School funds

Published: Sunday, July 14, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, July 12, 2013 at 8:23 p.m.

On Monday, the final chapter of Hendersonville Christian School will be written. A Superior Court judge is scheduled to rule on how funds remaining from the school's sale will be divided among a list of petitioners.

The sum total remaining is $55,362.54. The bulk of that is expected to go to the school's former headmaster, attorney James L. Goldsmith Jr., who petitioned the court for $273,000 in attorney's fees.

The school closed down last summer, and its facilities were sold to Henderson County for $910,000. Of that money, $765,000 went to satisfy a mortgage held by TD Bank; $30,000 went to the N.C. Employment Security Commission; and $91,000 went to real estate commissions and other closing costs.

At 10 a.m. Monday, the judge is expected to rule on a plan devised by court-appointed receiver William Gardo. Claims against the school have been filed by the City of Hendersonville, Southern Alarm, Jostens Inc., Goldsmith, and teachers Faith Cooper, Lynn Lechron, Denise Walden and Grace Currie. The teachers say they were not paid for the final two months of their employment at the school.

The original amount of the claims tallied $296,605.51. Under Gardo's plan, each of the claimants will receive a prorated share of the $55,362.54 that remains from the sale.

Walden says her claim is not about the money.

"I'm saddened that the school closed," she said. "It hurts my heart to know that the establishment is no longer there."

Walden first connected with the school in 1988 as a parent before starting to teach there in 1996. Walden had two kids graduate from the school and added that there should've been a third.

Walden, who says she is owed $3,750, is set to receive $699.95 under the receiver's plan.

Cooper, whose claim is $3,992.40, would get $732.14. Lechron, whose claim is $4,632.68, is set to receive $864.71, and Currie, owed $4,463, would get $833.94.

The plan calls for Goldsmith to walk away with $50,956.48. According to documents Goldsmith filed with the court, he is requesting compensation for more than 400 hours of legal work he performed on behalf of the school.

Goldsmith did not return a phone call seeking his comments.

No matter what the court rules on Monday morning, two former board members do not think Hendersonville Christian School's financial matters have been adequately resolved.

Chip McChristian and Kathleen Seng are disappointed that the former teachers will not be fully compensated.

"To me, (the teachers) are at the top of the list of who should be receiving money," McChristian said.

Goldsmith laid off the teachers in June 2011, and the teachers contend that because their annual salaries were divided into 12 monthly payments, they should have received checks for July and August. Goldsmith has said they were not entitled to pay after the June layoff because he had changed the pay cycle from 12 months to 10 months.

The teachers complained to the N.C. Department of Labor, which determined that the teachers were owed back wages. When the school refused to voluntarily pay the teachers, the Labor Department declined to take legal action on their behalf, saying the teachers were free to pursue the back wages in court.

"Those teachers still never have been paid," Seng said.

Seng's primary concern is that Goldsmith, as both headmaster and attorney, was overseeing the school's finances in the year leading up to the school's closure.

Goldsmith's affidavit to the court states that when the school closed due to financial issues on July 30, 2012, the board of directors retained him to represent the school in all legal matters relating to the school's dissolution. The retainer agreement called for Goldsmith to receive a contingency fee of 30 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the school property — or $273,000 of the $910,000 purchase price paid.

<p>On Monday, the final chapter of Hendersonville Christian School will be written. A Superior Court judge is scheduled to rule on how funds remaining from the school's sale will be divided among a list of petitioners.</p><p>The sum total remaining is $55,362.54. The bulk of that is expected to go to the school's former headmaster, attorney James L. Goldsmith Jr., who petitioned the court for $273,000 in attorney's fees. </p><p>The school closed down last summer, and its facilities were sold to Henderson County for $910,000. Of that money, $765,000 went to satisfy a mortgage held by TD Bank; $30,000 went to the N.C. Employment Security Commission; and $91,000 went to real estate commissions and other closing costs. </p><p>At 10 a.m. Monday, the judge is expected to rule on a plan devised by court-appointed receiver William Gardo. Claims against the school have been filed by the City of Hendersonville, Southern Alarm, Jostens Inc., Goldsmith, and teachers Faith Cooper, Lynn Lechron, Denise Walden and Grace Currie. The teachers say they were not paid for the final two months of their employment at the school.</p><p>The original amount of the claims tallied $296,605.51. Under Gardo's plan, each of the claimants will receive a prorated share of the $55,362.54 that remains from the sale. </p><p>Walden says her claim is not about the money. </p><p>"I'm saddened that the school closed," she said. "It hurts my heart to know that the establishment is no longer there."</p><p>Walden first connected with the school in 1988 as a parent before starting to teach there in 1996. Walden had two kids graduate from the school and added that there should've been a third.</p><p>Walden, who says she is owed $3,750, is set to receive $699.95 under the receiver's plan.</p><p>Cooper, whose claim is $3,992.40, would get $732.14. Lechron, whose claim is $4,632.68, is set to receive $864.71, and Currie, owed $4,463, would get $833.94. </p><p>The plan calls for Goldsmith to walk away with $50,956.48. According to documents Goldsmith filed with the court, he is requesting compensation for more than 400 hours of legal work he performed on behalf of the school.</p><p>Goldsmith did not return a phone call seeking his comments.</p><p>No matter what the court rules on Monday morning, two former board members do not think Hendersonville Christian School's financial matters have been adequately resolved. </p><p>Chip McChristian and Kathleen Seng are disappointed that the former teachers will not be fully compensated. </p><p>"To me, (the teachers) are at the top of the list of who should be receiving money," McChristian said. </p><p>Goldsmith laid off the teachers in June 2011, and the teachers contend that because their annual salaries were divided into 12 monthly payments, they should have received checks for July and August. Goldsmith has said they were not entitled to pay after the June layoff because he had changed the pay cycle from 12 months to 10 months.</p><p>The teachers complained to the N.C. Department of Labor, which determined that the teachers were owed back wages. When the school refused to voluntarily pay the teachers, the Labor Department declined to take legal action on their behalf, saying the teachers were free to pursue the back wages in court.</p><p>"Those teachers still never have been paid," Seng said. </p><p>Seng's primary concern is that Goldsmith, as both headmaster and attorney, was overseeing the school's finances in the year leading up to the school's closure. </p><p>Goldsmith's affidavit to the court states that when the school closed due to financial issues on July 30, 2012, the board of directors retained him to represent the school in all legal matters relating to the school's dissolution. The retainer agreement called for Goldsmith to receive a contingency fee of 30 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the school property — or $273,000 of the $910,000 purchase price paid.</p><p>"I just think that's a serious conflict of interest, and I don't think that's ethical," Seng said. </p><p>The school, she said, had a total "lack of transparency." </p><p>"I still think an audit needs to be done," McChristian said. "We'd find out a lot of things."</p><p>Reach Millwood at 828-694-7881 or at joey.millwood@blueridgenow.com.</p>